In 2023 Hurtigruten is celebrating 130 years. It will be offering two new cruise lines. Their cabins showcase Norwegian design simplicity and their cruises are all-inclusive. See the Midnight Sun in the summer and the Northern Lights in the winter.

Brief History of the Hurtigruten

With the second-longest coastline in the world, becoming a shipping icon and seagoing power was inevitable. The first Hurtigruten voyage was made July 2, 1893 by the company’s founder, Richard With. Hurti means the fast and ruten means route. It was the first ship to navigate the Norwegian coastline at a time when the waters were not so well-charted and when usually several ships would be needed. In three days, DS Vesteraale sailed from Trondheim to Hammerfest. With the ability to connect with people and goods in days instead of weeks due to the remoteness, commerce improved. The country’s export, codfish, could be quickly shipped from the north, such as the Lofoten Islands. Mail that could take as long as months would now be delivered in days. This was the government’s goal – to open up communications.

Between 1898 and 1908, places such as Bergen to the south and Kirkenes to the far north were added to the ports of call list.

The Central Express continues to grow over the years and today you can still go from one of its 34 ports to another. ➢Book Port to Port on the Hurtigruten. This is what I did to get from the Lofoten Islands back to the mainland. I first took the ferry over. My Hurtigruten port to port was 514 euros in 2015. In 2025, this trip would cost about $400 USD. This is with a cabin. Without one, it’s approximately $140 USD. With a sailing at 10:15 PM and arrival at 2:15 PM the next day, a cabin was worth it.

Hurtigruten also offers the “Original Voyages”. ➢See the Original Voyages offerings.

To celebrate its 130th anniversary, Hurtigruten launched their “Signature Voyages”. These offering are more of an all-inclusive cruise experience on two new lines.

The True North Cape Line (north, south or round trip) from Fall to Spring. This one is for seeing the famous Northern Lights.

The Svalbard Line (north, south, or round trip) in the summer months. Departing from Bergen in the south and sailing to Longyearbyen in the arctic circle, this is an experience of tbe Midnight sun, ➢ See the Signature Voyages offerings. Hurtigruten also offers special itinerary, such as astronomy and culinary (this one included an authentic Sámi meal), for example.

In Norway, we have a special word “Friluftsliv” and it means ‘open air living’. We friluftsliv whatever the weather, whatever the season. We friluftsliv even when it’s a bit wet. But when you have nature like us, you can understand why.

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